WHITMAN – The table is a little crowded for the Select Board’s next meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 17, as the board encountered questions surrounding how the School Committee vacancy – which was the result of the recent passing of Fred Small – will be filled, and how to resolve budgetary roadblocks the Police Department has run into in helping the Whitman Mothers Club host a fundraising 5K in October.
The board’s interviews with candidates interested in being appointed to the School Committee were already scheduled for Sept. 12, but Select Board Vice Chair Dan Salvucci mentioned a problem that had already cropped up for that session as well.
School Committee member Steve Bois will be undergoing throat surgery on Sept. 17 and would be unable to speak at a meeting, whether an in-person or remote session, Salvucci said
“That’s one member of our School Committee that can’t be there,” Salvucci said. “Either [the meeting gets rescheduled] or he doesn’t vote, and he’s been on the School Committee for a very long time and he should have a right to voice his opinion.”
Select Board Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski said he had “a number of conversations” with School Committee Chair Beth Stafford – each of them talking with their respective administrators, Whitman Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter and Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak – a week or two ago, in which they arrived at a schedule “that seems to work” to both fill the vacancy as well as to pay proper respect to Fred Small.
“We shouldn’t be jumping on the floor to replace him,” Kowalski said. “This is going to give people time to reflect on things.”
Carter said, in announcing the schedule, that the School Committee would make their own announcement about the vacancy and the schedule at their meeting.
The town is running an ad in this week’s Express and on the town website Thursday, Aug. 22, regarding the vacancy with a deadline of Tuesday, Sept. 3 for submission of letters of interest and resumes, which should be directly to Carter via her email: mcarter@whitman-ma.gov.
She would then forward copies of the letters and resumes to the full Select Board on Wednesday, Sept. 4, as well as to Stafford, Szymaniak and the other five Whitman members of the School Committee.
A joint Select Board/School Committee meeting was planned on being posted for 6 p.m., Sept. 12 to interview the candidates seeking the vacant seat.
“How did you come up with the date of a Thursday and not a Tuesday or a Wednesday?” Salvucci asked.
Carter said it just evolved from their discussion on available dates and the timeline surrounding the call for resumes and the time needed to review them.
Salvucci again raised Bois’ surgery date.
“He knew he couldn’t be in attendance,” Salvucci said. “I just thought it was kind of unfair. When we reorganize we wait until we have a full board. It would be best if we had the full board and School Committee could be there and find the proper date.”
Kowalski asked if Salvucci knew of a better night for Bois.
“I’d have to call him,” Salvucci said. “He may just say do it.”
Board member Shawn Kain asked if Bois would be able to attend virtually.
“He won’t be able to speak,” Salvucci said.
“I agree with you, though,” said board member Laura Howe. “It shows a deeper level of respect and Fred Small did so much for this town – and Steve Bois as well.”
Salvucci volunteered to call Bois to see if there is a better date for the meeting.
Board member Justin Evans noted that a meeting date – if it were changed – would have to be one on which the candidates would be able to be available, too.
Kowalski also suggested that the interviews meeting could be pushed into October.
“I think Steve ought to be involved, here,” he said. “Why don’t we go back to the drawing board?”
Carter said that, while the ad has been placed, the resume filing deadline had been the only date specified.
The road race request was filed by Jessica Cunninghan for the Whitman Mothers Club, which is planning a 5K roadrace on Sunday, Oct 20 beginning at noon. The route planned would require shutting down the one-way portion of Whitman Avenue to allow organizers to set up for the race.
That’s where Police Chief Timothy Hanlon ran into budgetary problems that the Select Board is hoping the extra time afforded by postponing the vote to Sept. 10, can provide an opportunity to find solutions.
“Regarding road races in general, and really when they are fundraisers, the police department does make every effort – as we have over the years – to accommodate that by not charging for road closures, details and everything else,” Hanlon said. “Just the way the budget is going, it’s not going to be feasible anymore.”
He said the department is all in favor of helping out a charity, but he questioned where the $2,800 it will cost in overtime to the officers needed along the route, would come from.
“I don’t know,” he said about the answer to that question. “I don’t know how much they would actually fundraise, especially if we had to charge them for details.”
While saying the department has gone that route in the past, he left it up to the board this time. He mentioned that other charities had been able to adjust their plans or fundraising to fulfill their detail needs.
“I just found out about this one last week,” Hanlon said.
Carter mentioned that race organizers had mentioned perhaps having a smaller route for the race could require fewer officers, and asked if that was a possible alternative.
“I did adjust the route, kind of on my own,” Hanlon said. “They want to start and end near Old Colony Brewing and that’s why they want the one-way section of Whitman Ave. That, in and of itself, presents challenges.”
Hanlon said the department has used different routes over the years and the easiest one is the former Panther Prowl – which began and ended at the high school – traversing Frankin Street and South Avenue, up Winter Street.
“A 5K is a 5K,” he said. “We have to begin and end it to make sure there are five kilometers in the race.”
Even with an amended route, turning off South Avenue, back up Lake Street and then Whitman Avenue, instead of the full length of South Avenue, but that would require more officers to block off more side streets.
“Even with that, I think the bare minimum is 10 officers, coupled with the [overtime] rate on a weekend, would be $2,800,” Hanlon said.
In response to a question from Kowalski, Hanlon said he had not talked to Cunningham about the problem, so Salvucci suggested it be tabled until the board’s next meeting.
“That way the chief can talk with [the Mothers Club] and maybe they can come up with a reasonable solution,” he said.
“That would be a great idea,” Carter said. “Because you don’t usually do [thee 5Ks] in a year…”
The other issue is the challenges straining the general Police Department budget. The Police Reform Act changes requiring a full-time police academy adds to the challenge as he has to send more cadets through that academy.
“I don’t want to get up here and speak about the police budget,” he said.
Evans also mentioned that this year it’s Whitman’s turn to host the Tri-Town Veterans Day Parade and Hanlon noted that next year, the town’s 150th anniversary will also present challenges for the department.
“I don’t want to turn down the Mothers Club,” Kowalski said.
“Neither do I,” Hanlon said. “It’s just the situation we’re in.”
Kain said the board should do whatever it could to help out the Mothers Club and organizations like it.
“If we can brainstorm, either on your end, or some sort of compromise, and maybe on our end,” he said. “These are community events that bring in a lot of people for a good cause.”